Le Guin, Ursula K.

A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Average customer rating:

A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Staff Favorites | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Classics | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
The Farthest Shore (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 3)
Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4)
Tales from Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 5)
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)

ASIN: 0553262505
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Amazon.com

Often compared to Tolkien's Middle-earth or Lewis's Narnia, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a stunning fantasy world that grabs quickly at our hearts, pulling us deeply into its imaginary realms. Four books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu) tell the whole Earthsea cycle--a tale about a reckless, awkward boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard's apprentice after the wizard reveals Sparrowhawk's true name. The boy comes to realize that his fate may be far more important than he ever dreamed possible. Le Guin challenges her readers to think about the power of language, how in the act of naming the world around us we actually create that world. Teens, especially, will be inspired by the way Le Guin allows her characters to evolve and grow into their own powers.

In this first book, A Wizard of Earthsea readers will witness Sparrowhawk's moving rite of passage--when he discovers his true name and becomes a young man. Great challenges await Sparrowhawk, including an almost deadly battle with a sinister creature, a monster that may be his own shadow.

Book Description

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

Average customer rating:

The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Dispossessed
Childhood's End
A Canticle for Liebowitz
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)
Tales from Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 5)

ASIN: 0441478123

Amazon.com

Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of no gender--or both--this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Le Guin portrays her alien world are not only unusual and inspiring, they are fundamental to almost all decent science fiction that has been written since. In fact, reading Le Guin again may cause the eye to narrow somewhat disapprovingly at the younger generation: what new ground are they breaking that is not already explored here with greater skill and acumen? It cannot be said, however, that this is a rollicking good story. Le Guin takes a lot of time to explore her characters, the world of her creation, and the philosophical themes that arise.

If there were a canon of classic science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness would be included without debate. Certainly, no science fiction bookshelf may be said to be complete without it. But the real question: is it fun to read? It is science fiction of an earlier time, a time that has not worn particularly well in the genre. The Left Hand of Darkness was a groundbreaking book in 1969, a time when, like the rest of the arts, science fiction was awakening to new dimensions in both society and literature. But the first excursions out of the pulp tradition are sometimes difficult to reread with much enjoyment. Rereading The Left Hand of Darkness, decades after its publication, one feels that those who chose it for the Hugo and Nebula awards were right to do so, for it truly does stand out as one of the great books of that era. It is immensely rich in timeless wisdom and insight.

The Left Hand of Darkness is science fiction for the thinking reader, and should be read attentively in order to properly savor the depth of insight and the subtleties of plot and character. It is one of those pleasures that requires a little investment at the beginning, but pays back tenfold with the joy of raw imagination that resonates through the subsequent 30 years of science fiction storytelling. Not only is the bookshelf incomplete without owning it, so is the reader without having read it. --L. Blunt Jackson

Book Description

Ursula K. Le Guin's award-winning, groundbreaking science fiction classic takes us to the world of Winter, and introduces us to its inhabitants, the Gethenians-whose society is not based on gender roles.

Average customer rating:

The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Left Hand of Darkness
The Lathe of Heaven: A Novel (Perennial Classics)
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume--Rocannon's World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions
The Telling

ASIN: 0061054887

Book Description

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990

Average customer rating:

The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990

Manufacturer: R.S. Means Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Short Stories | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Cosmicomics
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SF Hall of Fame)
The Left Hand of Darkness
Burning Chrome

ASIN: 0393972410

Average customer rating:

Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4)
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Classics | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Farthest Shore (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 3)
Tales from Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 5)
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)
The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

ASIN: 0689845332

Amazon.com

Ursula K. LeGuin follows her classic trilogy from Earthsea with a magical tale that won the 1991 Nebula Award for Science Fiction. Unlike the tales in the trilogy, this novel is short and concise, yet it is by no means simplistic. Promoted as a children's book because of the awards garnered in that category by her previous work, Tehanu transcends classification and shows the wizardry of female magic. The story involves a middle-age widow who sets out to visit her dying mentor and eventually cares for his favorite student.

Book Description

Years before, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan -- she, an isolated young priestess, he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him not by choice.

A lifetime ago, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Now they must join forces again, to help another -- the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny remains to be revealed.

With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere. Complex, innovative, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Book Description

Ansul was once a peaceful town filled with libraries, schools, and temples. But that was long ago, and the conquerors of this coastal city consider reading and writing to be acts punishable by death. And they believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething with demons. But to seventeen-year-old Memer, the house is a refuge, a place of family and learning, ritual and memory--the only place where she feels truly safe.

Then an Uplands poet named Orrec and his wife, Gry, arrive, and everything in Memer's life begins to change. Will she and the people of Ansul at last be brave enough to rebel against their oppressors?

A haunting and gripping coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of violence, intolerance, and magic, Voices is a novel that readers will not soon forget.

Average customer rating:

The Telling
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Left Hand of Darkness
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume--Rocannon's World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)
The Dispossessed
Four Ways to Forgiveness: Stories

ASIN: 0151005672

Amazon.com

Earthling Sutty has been living a solitary, well-protected life in Dovza City on the planet Aka as an official Observer for the interstellar Ekumen. Insisting on all citizens being pure "producer-consumers," the tightly controlled capitalist government of Aka--the Corporation--is systematically destroying all vestiges of the ancient ways: "The Time of Cleansing" is the chilling term used to describe this era. Books are burned, the old language and calligraphy are outlawed, and those caught trying to keep any part of the past alive are punished and then reeducated. Frustrated in her attempts to study the linguistics and literature of Aka's cultural past, Sutty is sent upriver to the backwoods town of Okzat-Ozkat. Here she is slowly charmed by the old-world mountain people, whose still waters, she gradually realizes, run very deep. But whether their ways constitute a religion, ancient traditions, philosophy, or passive, political resistance, Sutty is not sure. Delving ever deeper into her hosts' culture, Sutty finds herself on a parallel spiritual quest, as well.

With quiet linguistic humor (Dovza citizens are passionate about their hot bitter beverage, akakafi--the ubiquitous Corporation brand is called Starbrew), dark references to the dangers of restricted cultural, political, and social freedom, and beautifully visualized worlds, award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin pens her latest in the Hainish cycle, which includes The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. Le Guin explores her characters and societies with such care, such thoughtfulness, her novels call out for slow, deep attention. --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

The Left Hand of DarknessSutty, an Observer from Earth for the interstellar Ekumen, has been assigned to a new world-a world in the grips of a stern monolithic state, the Corporation. Embracing the sophisticated technology brought by other worlds and desiring to advance even faster into the future, the Akans recently outlawed the past, the old calligraphy, certain words, all ancient beliefs and ways; every citizen must now be a producer-consumer. Their state, not unlike the China of the Cultural Revolution, is one of secular terrorism. Traveling from city to small town, from loudspeakers to bleating cattle, Sutty discovers the remnants of a banned religion, a hidden culture. As she moves deeper into the countryside and the desolate mountains, she learns more about the Telling-the old faith of the Akans-and more about herself. With her intricate creation of an alien world, Ursula K. Le Guin compels us to reflect on our own recent history.

Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way

Average customer rating:

Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way
Ursula K. Le Guin , and Lao Tzu
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Eastern Philosophy | Other Eastern Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Taoism | Other Eastern Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Tao Te Ching | Bible & Other Sacred Texts | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew
Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore)
Tao te Ching
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else

ASIN: 1570623953
Release Date: 1998-10-20

Amazon.com

Like Stephen Mitchell, acclaimed author and poet Ursula K. Le Guin has attempted a nonliteral, poetic rendition of the Tao Te Ching. She brings to it a punctuated grace that can only have been hammered out during long trials of wordsmithing. The wisdom that she finds in the Tao Te Ching is primal, and her spare, undulating phrases speak volumes. By making the text her own, Le Guin avoids such questions as "Is it accurate?" By making it her own, she has made it for us--a new, uncarved block from which we are free to sculpt our own meaning.

Book Description

No other English translation of this greatest of the Chinese classics can match Ursula Le Guin's striking new version. Le Guin, best known for thought-provoking science fiction novels that have helped to transform the genre, has studied the Tao Te Ching for more than forty years. She has consulted the literal translations and worked with Chinese scholars to develop a version that lets the ancient text speak in a fresh way to modern people, while remaining faithful to the poetic beauty of the work. Avoiding scholarly interpretations and esoteric Taoist insights, she has revealed the Tao Te Ching 's immediate relevance and power, its depth and refreshing humor, in a way that shows better than ever before why it has been so much loved for more than 2,500 years. Included are Le Guin's own personal commentary and notes on the text. This new version is sure to be welcomed by the many readers of the Tao Te Ching as well as those coming to the text for the first time.

The Lathe of Heaven: A Novel (Perennial Classics)

Average customer rating:

The Lathe of Heaven: A Novel (Perennial Classics)
Ursula K. Le Guin
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Left Hand of Darkness
The Dispossessed
The Lathe of Heaven
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume--Rocannon's World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions
The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)

ASIN: 0060512741
Release Date: 2003-08-14

Amazon.com

Ursula K. Le Guin is one of science fiction's greatest writers. She is also an acclaimed author of powerful and perceptive nonfiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. She has received many honors, including six Nebula and five Hugo Awards, the National Book Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Newbery, the Pilgrim, the Tiptree, and citations by the American Library Association. She has written over a dozen highly regarded novels and story collections. Her SF masterworks are The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), The Dispossessed (1974), and The Lathe of Heaven (1971).

George Orr has dreams that come true--dreams that change reality. He dreams that the aunt who is sexually harassing him is killed in a car crash, and wakes to find that she died in a wreck six weeks ago, in another part of the country. But a far darker dream drives George into the care of a psychotherapist--a dream researcher who doesn't share George's ambivalence about altering reality.

The Lathe of Heaven is set in the sort of worlds that one would associate with Philip K. Dick, but Ms. Le Guin's treatment of the material, her plot and characterization and concerns, are more akin to the humanistic, ethically engaged, psychologically nuanced fiction of Theodore Sturgeon. The Lathe of Heaven is an insightful and chilling examination of total power, of war and injustice and other age-old problems, of changing the world, of playing God. --Cynthia Ward

Book Description

George Orr is a man who discovers he has the peculiar ability to dream things into being -- for better or for worse. In desperation, he consults a psychotherapist who promises to help him -- but who, it soon becomes clear, has his own plans for George and his dreams.</p>

Amazon.com

Ursula K. Le Guin's extraordinary writing primer is full of charm, wit, and opinion. Le Guin likens writing to "steering a craft," and as one reads through this volume, one has the sense of floating down a river, with the waves of Le Guin's words lapping at one's craft. Le Guin veers sharply from the mainstream of contemporary writing manuals by challenging their very definition of story. While it is common to "conflate story with conflict," Le Guin writes, she finds that limiting. "Story is change," she says. While that change may be the result of conflict, it is just as likely to evolve from "relating, finding, losing, bearing, discovering, [or] parting." Le Guin demonstrates this complexity with well-hewn excerpts from the works of such writers as Jane Austen, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charlotte Brontë, and especially Virginia Woolf. The many aspects of fine fiction writing Le Guin addresses here include the role of the narrative sentence (its "chief duty [is] to lead to the next sentence--to keep the story going"); avoiding exposition doldrums ("break up the information, grind it fine, and make it into bricks to build the story with"); and the concept of "crowding and leaping." While prose should be "crowded with sensations, meanings, and implications," don't forget that "what you leave out is infinitely more than what you leave in."

Accompanying Le Guin's text is a handful of clever writing exercises, each as enticing as its name. Among them are "I am García Márquez," which requires writing with no punctuation; "Chastity," which challenges one to write without adjectives or adverbs; and "A Terrible Thing to Do," which proposes taking an earlier exercise and cutting it--by half. --Jane Steinberg

Customer Reviews:

Good practical advice.......2007-02-15

This book has very good writing exercises to get you started. I preferred to do the exercises first and then to read the entire chapter explaining the purpose of the exercise. I really enjoyed the examples from other novels that Le Guin selected.

I love that Le Guin wrote the book for both critique groups and writers on their own. I disagreed with some of her advice for critique groups. Usually, the only thing that happens in these groups is that the "creative" beginning writer who takes risks is chased out or domineered by the people who know the "rules" of writing.

There are no set "rules" of writing, only different opinions. Tolstoy begins his famous novel in the middle of a conversation. Thomas Hardy uses passive voice extensively even in the first paragraph of his famous novel. Yet, by some people's standards today, their works would have been immediately rejected as written by an amateurish hack.

Most published writers I know abhor critique groups. There are simply too many genres and categories of fiction writing. How you write will depend heavily on the type of market you plan on submitting your work, and no one knows all of them. Join a critique group for the experience, and keep your sense of humor. Don't get discouraged if it's not the rosy image you have of artists supporting one another through creativity. If you do get discouraged, read Paul Theroux's "Sir Vidia's Shadow" for the ultimate tale of being mistreated by a fellow writer.

I love Appendix II: Forms of the Verbs. It's short but full of information. It's almost worth the price of the book alone. Most how-to-write books make use of the past and present tenses as if those are the only two stylistic choices left on earth. It was very refreshing to see Le Guin's notes on this subject.

learn and have fun.......2005-12-31

This is the best book on writing narrative I've ever read. It has Le Guin's wit and imagination in the writing, and it is full of useful tips and exercizes. A book to keep around and pick up over and over.

A Refreshing Text on Creative Writing.......2003-03-14

"Steering the Craft" is a surprisingly good and practical book on creative writing. I was surprised because books and essays on writing by established authors can be downright patronizing and intentionally vague. Le Guin, on the other hand, uses lucid language and a gentle tone to explain the essential elements of good prose writing. The examples she uses are eye-opening, perhaps because I keep seeing the same examples from the same group of contemporary authors in most recent books on writing. Her exercises are also innovative, especially those intended to help fiction writers recognize the subtle "music" in prose, and how that is different from poetry. Scattered throughout the book are several opinion pieces where Le Guin discusses various trends in contemporary prose writing. This is where you decide whether her book is right for you--Le Guin definitely has some strong views: she believes that immediacy of the present tense narrative is an illusion and is equally skeptical about hybrid genre prose. If you are in agreement with her or can live with those views, then I have no qualms about recommending this little gem.

An excellent book on craft.......2003-02-01

I've been a big fan of Ms. LeGuin's for a very long time. This book on the craft of story telling has been extremely helpful. I'm a lawyer and I write stories on behalf of endangered species every day: now I hope to write them better! I strongly advise a re-read of Strunk and White (I've found used copies for about 85 cents in San Francisco) in conjunction with her book.
If you're a LeGuin fan, just read it for pure enjoyment. I think every book reveals something of an author, and everything she reveals is delightful, intricate, and honest.
If you're interested in developing your writing skills, this is a great lesson and excersice book. But don't expect her to be easy on on you: she'll hold you to a hight standard! She will also get you thinking about language as an art, which is a good thing.
Let out your sheets and run downwind with this gem.

A Journey Well Worth Taking.......2002-12-05

Very, very few writers these days will share their knowledge of how to <really> become better writers. Many will write books on how to sell what you've written or how to write novels that will fly off the shelves, but few provide any real, practical information on how to hone the craft of writing. Let such things not be said about Ursula K. Le Guin.

Le Guin says that while the "gift" can't be earned, the craft of writing can. All artists practice and work at their craft: musicians, painters, sculptors, dancers....even writers. The craft can be developed and Le Guin shows us how.

You won't find any pie-in-the-sky philosophies about writing in this book, just practical information which, if followed, will make you a better writer. Le Guin's chapters include:

The Sound of Your Writing
Sentence Length and Complex Syntax
Repetition
Adjective and Adverb
Point of View and Voice
Changing Point of View
and much more.

Each chapter contains writing exercises specific to the chapter topic. (Le Guin also suggests many titles for further reading.) This book will become a gold mine to any writer of fiction or creative non-fiction. It's the perfect book to use for a writers' group or peer group. Thank you, Ms. Le Guin, for sharing your gift with us.

Authors:

Authors

Authors